Hello, friends.
The thing that sucks about an off day after a day game is that by the time the Orioles play again tonight, it'll have been more than 48 hours since we last saw them. Maybe that's a positive after the way their most recent game ended. But not for me. In the old, crappy days, seeing less of the Orioles might be better. Now that they're good, though, I want to get to see them sooner, so maybe they can wash the bad vibes away.
They'll have to do that without Jimmy Paredes, lost on waivers to the Blue Jays yesterday. Look, I don't care about Paredes. He was a guy who had a nice couple of months last season and since the rest of the team wasn't good enough that didn't really matter. If he destroys the Orioles later in the year, so be it.
The Mariners await next. The O's acquitted themselves decently the last time they ran into a first place team. Let's hope they can do so again over the next three games. They'll need to stay hot because the Red Sox will probably keep winning.
Around the blogO'sphere
A Lasting Handshake: Manny Machado, Jonathan Schoop Take Unique Path To Majors (Press Box)
The definitive accounting of the Machado-Schoop friendship that you know you always wanted finally arrived yesterday, courtesy of Dan Connolly in Press Box. It is fantastic. Extend both of these men.
In Hardy's absence, Orioles' infield defense still among the best - Baltimore Sun
Somehow this headline is still true even though Pedro Alvarez has gotten time at third base. I don't know how long that will last.
No strikeouts, no problem: Chris Lee thriving at Bowie (plus Peralta update) - Steve Melewski
Steve Melewski likes an Orioles prospect. Lee really doesn't have many strikeouts this year - 13 in 37.1 innings. You may be more bothered by that fact than Melewski.
Orioles Outfielder Hyun Soo Kim Faces Challenging Adjustment To Majors (Press Box)
Friend of the blog Paul Folkemer on the Orioles sporadically-appearing outfielder. Here's hoping he gets some more time soon.
Mariners-Orioles Preview (May 16, 2016) | FOX Sports
Speaking of those Mariners... here's a little more about them.
Mark Trumbo is crushing the ball and it could be for real this time - Beyond the Box Score
Elsewhere on SB Nation, Kevin Ruprecht is getting hype for Trumbombs. Join the club, Kevin.
Birthdays and anniversaries
There are a few former Orioles with birthdays today, though none are big names. They are: Jack Voigt (1992-95), Ozzie Virgil (all of one game in 1962), and the late Billy Hoeft (1959-62) and Jim McDonald (1955 O's).
Along with those former Orioles, your birthday buddies for today include: Dodge co-founder Horace Elgin Dodge (1868), baseball Hall of Famer Cool Papa Bell (1903), Watergate special prosecutor Archibald Cox (1912), boxer Sugar Ray Leonard (1956), sportscaster and "Hello, friends" originator Jim Nantz (1959), singer-songwriter Enya (1961), Nine Inch Nails man Trent Reznor (1965), and Twilight's Nikki Reed (1988).
I had a girlfriend once who tried to get me to dress like Trent Reznor. It didn't go very well.
On this day in history...
In 1536, the marriage of Henry VIII of England to Anne Boleyn was annulled. In a related development, George Boleyn, brother of Anne, was executed after being found guilty of treason on this day.
In 1792, the Buttonwood Agreement - so named because it was settled under a buttonwood tree on Wall Street - was signed, which led to the creation of what is now the New York Stock Exchange.
In 1939, Columbia and Princeton played the first televised sports event in the US - a college baseball game. The televised game was the second half of a doubleheader, which host Columbia won, 2-1, in ten innings.
In 1954, the United States Supreme Court issued the unanimous decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, which stated, among other things: "Separate education facilities are inherently unequal."
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And that's the way it is in Birdland on May 17 - or at least, until something happens later. Have a safe Tuesday. Go Orioles!